


moonlight, show me what's real

by the black spot (Ejunkiet)



Series: dead men tell no tales [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Neverland (Once Upon a Time), Romance, Unresolved Sexual Tension, back to neverland, stolen moments amidst the search for pan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-02-23 02:50:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23704573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ejunkiet/pseuds/the%20black%20spot
Summary: They're on the verge of something - something she's not sure she's ready for.--He doesn't say anything, eyes flickering between hers for a long moment before he seems to come to a decision. He steps forward, closing the distance between them, hand raising to her shoulder, skimming gently down the length of her arm. His fingers circle her wrist, light touches against her pulse, before he raises her palm to his mouth, pressing his lips against it in a soft kiss.Her heart skips a beat, and she opens her mouth to say - something - but he's moving before she can get the words out, tugging her forward until he can place her palm against his chest.
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan
Series: dead men tell no tales [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1387783
Comments: 12
Kudos: 60





	moonlight, show me what's real

**Author's Note:**

> This is a throwback to the Neverland arc, and it's one of three half-completed captain swan fics that I have sitting in my docs. This is likely the only one that will see the light of day, but this is my favourite of the lot, and I hope you like it as much as I do. <3

It's hot and humid in Neverland, a veritable jungle encapsulated inside an eternal, static summer that offers little reprieve from the claustrophobic heat. She's starting to lose track of the time they've spent here, the days they’ve spent evading Pan and his allies on the search for Henry - only to find themselves no closer to their goal than when they first started.

She's tired of this - tired of waiting for some magical plan to spring up from the underbrush. The expectation in the air is almost suffocating, and it only gets worse when they're forced to stop and set up camp every night, and all she can hear are the cries of the lost boys, a lament to their stolen lives, abandoned families.

Maybe things would have been different if she was more like her parents, with their strength in the face of adversity and boundless optimism, but the truth of the matter is that she isn't.

It's not long after they've settled down for their fifth - sixth? the days have started blurring together, she's losing track - night in the forest that Emma slips away from the main encampment, ducking into the tree line as she picks a path through the surrounding woods. It's not as if she's planning on breaking away from the group, she just needs - some air. Some space to breathe, away from the pressure of her family and the long, intense stares of the men in their party who couldn't quite make up their minds what they wanted from her.

 _On that note._ She releases a long breath as she pushes through a thicket of trees into a small clearing, pulling to a stop and turning to face the shadow that's followed her from camp. 

"If you're hoping to catch me off guard, you need to do better than that."

He’d been careful. If she’d been anyone else, he wouldn’t have been caught – but she wasn’t, and she stands at the edge of the clearing, scanning the shadows, waiting.

After a moment, a figure steps out from between the trees.

“It's not wise to venture out into these woods alone.”

Hook's smile is wry as he picks through the undergrowth, the dark leather of his coat blending remarkably well with the trees, making him near invisible in the half twilight. He raises both hands - well, hand and hook - in a placating gesture as he steps into the clearing, coming to a stop before her, and she eases her grip on the hilt of the sword.

Recognising the weapon hanging on her hip as the sword he'd given her, he lets out a low laugh, rocking back on his heels.

“It seems my services weren’t needed after all.”

She almost rolls her eyes at that but settles for crossing her arms across her chest and levelling him with a long look.

“What do you want, Hook?”

The amusement fades from his expression, his eyes flickering between hers for a long moment before he looks away. “For us to come to an understanding.”

This was about earlier, she realises, her stomach dropping to the vicinity of somewhere near her feet, and she turns her head to the side to hide the rising heat on her cheeks.

It’s only been a few short hours since their ill-advised tryst but it’s been long enough for her to recognise the gravity of her mistake she had made. She – doesn’t have time for this. Not now. Not _here._

She takes a deep breath, steeling herself to turn him away. “Hook-”

He raises his hand “Just - wait.”

He keeps his voice low, his steps even and measured as he approaches her, like he's approaching a wounded animal. And she's bleeding, yes, but these are old wounds, ones that she can manage herself, and she almost resents his caution. 

He stops half a foot away, his hand flexing at his side as he watches her and she bites her tongue, steeling herself for what comes next.

 _(Please don't_ , is what she wants to say, the words balanced on the tip of her tongue. Henry is her focus right now, is all she can afford to think about -)

But he doesn't say anything, eyes flickering between hers for a long moment before he seems to come to a decision. He steps forward, closing the distance between them, hand raising to her shoulder, skimming gently down the length of her arm. His fingers circle her wrist, light touches against her pulse, before he raises her palm to his mouth, pressing his lips against it in a soft kiss.

Her heart skips a beat, and she opens her mouth to say - _something_ \- but he's moving before she can get the words out, tugging her forward until he can place her palm against his chest.

His skin is hot to the touch, dampened by sweat and the humidity, and she can feel the thud of his heartbeat beneath her fingers.

Her eyes flicker across his face, settling on his eyes, his mouth. She can still remember the feeling of his mouth against hers, lips hard and searching, the taste of rum sharp and addictive on her tongue. She meets his gaze again, and his eyes have darkened, sending her heart thudding within the confines of her chest - she can feel his do the same under her fingertips.

She lets out a hard breath, and his eyes gleam as they skim across her features, taking her in, and she feels carved open, exposed: all of her secrets way out in the open.

“Killian,” she starts, and his breath catches, and she loses track of whatever she was going to say next. His eyes track hers, and his voice is soft as a whisper when he replies.

“ _Emma_.”

He meets her gaze again, holds it steady. The look on his face isn't what she expected - his eyes have softened, almost fond as he reaches up to tuck a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.

He speaks then, and it's soft, almost as if he were talking to himself.

“I just had to be sure, love.”

They're on the verge of something - something she's not sure she's ready for, and her heart skips a beat in her chest, picking up into a thunderous rhythm. He draws in closer until she can feel his breath on her cheek, pupils wide and dark as his eyes linger on her lips before he takes a deep shuddering breath, and steps away.

She feels herself leaning in, chasing his departure before she catches herself, letting out a hard breath as she pulls herself back into the moment -- here, in Neverland, with _Killian_ \- _Hook_.

He turns away to face the clearing, expression cast in shadow, and she takes advantage of the moment to compose herself.

When she looks back at him, it's to find his eyes on hers, darker than she’s ever seen them, glittering in the half-shadows cast by the forever twilight. 

“I meant what I said before: I will fight for you, Emma.”

Her heart thuds once, hard, in her chest, and for a moment, all of her worries and fears fade into the background, and there's just this moment, here.

“I know.”

A small smile twists up his lips, dimpling his cheek, and in the half light, he looks every inch the pirate she knows him to be.

“We shouldn't tarry here much longer. Your parents will be looking for you.”

The smile lingers on their way back to camp, a small thing that warms her when she thinks of it, when she glances over and sees him watching her, that glint there still, and shit, she thinks. 

She could fall for him too.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr (ejunkiet)!


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